


Dawn to Dusk

by Slicki



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, anyways this fic is fluff and half just a self-indulgent deal, i've wanted to use that relationship tag for AGES, post-apocalyptic cottagecore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25295731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slicki/pseuds/Slicki
Summary: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Jihyo after the world ends.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Park Jisoo | Jihyo/Yoo Jeongyeon
Comments: 51
Kudos: 226





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Is post-apocalyptic cottagecore actually a thing? Idk but I'm running with it!

Jeongyeon falls asleep thinking about the loose shingles she had spotted while cleaning the gutters that morning. She wakes up to the feeling of something wet on her face and immediately knows what it is. 

Drip.

She flinches back into her pillow, rubbing at her now wet eye. It’s then that she realizes that the universe has decided to grant her one kindness inside this misfortune. 

For once, she doesn't find herself wrapped in a tangle of limbs upon waking. She opens her eyes and can't help her smile. She's glad the other two occupants of the bed can't see her face right now, because she knows they'd never let her live it down. 

There, on the farthest edge of their bed, Nayeon and Jihyo lay in what Jeongyeon can only describe as a heap. Jihyo has all but climbed atop Nayeon in her sleep, head tucked into the curve of her neck and arms splayed across the pillow Nayeon rests on.

For a few seconds, Jeongyeon just watches, soothed by the peaceful slumber of the two people she loves most. The impact of another drop of water is the only thing that pulls her away from the scene. 

She slips out of bed, feet falling softly against the cold wooden floors as she makes her way down the hallway and to the utility closet. She grabs a bucket and a rag and begins making her way back to their bedroom. 

On the way there, she tries to work out what she'll need to trade for in order to make the repairs. She'll probably need a couple new shingles, some flashing, and caulk. It's a small enough ask, and she has a feeling the quiver of arrows Nayeon recently finished crafting will be a sufficient trade. 

She dabs at the wet spot on the bed and places the bucket over it. Next, the rag gets placed in the bottom of the bucket to dampen the noise. As long as the drip stays in one spot, there's no reason for Nayeon or Jihyo to be woken up. 

Right as Jeongyeon steps away from the bed, Jihyo shifts. Her hand reaches out, and Jeongyeon winces as it almost knocks into the bucket. The wandering hand doesn't stop its search even after sweeping half of the bed, and Jihyo's brow furrows. 

Jeongyeon catches Jihyo's hand with her own, not unaware of the small sigh of contentment Jihyo lets out as her search comes to an end. In any other situation in which her spot in bed wasn't obstructed by a bucket, Jeongyeon would've loved nothing more than to slide closer, hook her chin over Jihyo's shoulder, and curl her foot around Nayeon's ankle.

As it is, Jeongyeon knows that she's stuck for the next several minutes. On one hand, she's now leaning awkwardly over the bed, one knee on the mattress and one hand supporting the bucket. On the other, she knows pulling away will wake Jihyo too soon, and she needs her rest. 

Jeongyeon hovers, swiping her thumb over the back of Jihyo's hand until the other woman begins breathing more deeply. Centimeter by centimeter, she withdraws her hand until, finally, she slips free. 

She walks out of their room and down the hall, wincing as she steps upon the cool kitchen tile. It’s early enough in the morning that the sun is just barely rising over the mountains in the distance, early enough that Jeongyeon finds herself zoning out after she opens the refrigerator. A yawn snaps her out of it, and then she’s gathering the things she needs for coffee and a simple breakfast. 

Halfway through frying up some eggs, Jeongyeon hears the first sign that she's no longer alone. It’s quiet, but it’s a sound Jeongyeon knows well. The floorboard right before the kitchen transitions to tile always squeaks, and Jeongyeon is the only one who makes an effort to avoid it. 

She idly nudges her eggs and waits. Jeongyeon knows whoever it is will come to her. She reaches to grab her coffee mug and take a sip, and, as she goes to set it down, a pair of arms wrap around her waist, face pressing into her shoulder. 

She knows exactly who it is now.

“Morning.”

She gets a wordless grumble in return, and Jihyo’s arms tighten around her waist. “Why were you replaced by a bucket?” Jihyo’s voice is heavy and sleep-worn, and something in Jeongyeon’s chest blooms with the desire to whisk them back to bed.

Jeongyeon slips her spatula under the eggs and lifts them onto a waiting plate. Jihyo sways with her. “The roof leaked.”

Jihyo’s body stretches against her, and Jeongyeon feels small vibrations reverberate through her body. The stretch ends, and Jihyo sags boneless against her back. “So?” It’s murmured into her shoulder. “You could’ve come to us. Plenty of room.” The hands wrapped around her waist slip underneath her sleep shirt, dragging fingertips across warm skin.

“I had to get the bucket or the bed would get wet,” Jeongyeon says, trying to take a step towards the kitchen table. Jihyo doesn’t move, only nuzzles her face into Jeongyeon’s shoulder blade. Jeongyeon takes a sip from her mug and resigns herself to eating breakfast standing up. 

“Come back to bed.”

“I’m eating breakfast.”

A beat. "You're making quite the value judgement."

Jeongyeon takes another sip of her coffee. "Too early in the morning for the words 'value judgement', dear."

"Too early for you not to be in bed." The hands around her waist dip lower, slip underneath the elastic of her sweatpants and trace over her hip bones. It's Jihyo's own version of a siren song, Jeongyeon knows. She can feel Jihyo lulling herself back to sleep with the motion, the weight of Jihyo's head growing heavier and heavier against her back. 

"We never have time off together," Jihyo mumbles against the fabric of her shirt. Jeongyeon has to strain to make out her words. "Wanted to cuddle."

Jeongyeon's hand goes slack around her fork. Jihyo's right. They don't often all have the same day off, and collectively sleeping in is a luxury they always try and take advantage of. She wants to protest again, explain that she really did have no choice when the rain started happening inside the house, but that's not what's important.

Jeongyeon turns around, arms open and ready for Jihyo to fall into them. And she does, head fitting to the curve of Jeongyeon's neck to nose softly at her shirt. Jeongyeon pulls her close, let's one arm lay loose across Jihyo's waist and lifts the other to run her fingers through Jihyo's hair. 

Jihyo lets out a content hum, burrowing closer. Jeongyeon's heart aches with the knowledge that this is her life, that she gets to have her early mornings punctuated by a drowsy Jihyo who wants nothing more than to be near. There’s one other person missing, but Jeongyeon likes knowing that at least one of them is sleeping.

Jeongyeon presses a kiss to the crown of Jihyo's head, murmuring into her hairline. "How about this? I finish eating and then we go try and squeeze into half of the bed without knocking the bucket over. We can sit on the couch."

Jihyo nods her agreement, but she makes no move to separate from Jeongyeon. With a fond sigh, Jeongyeon reaches behind herself to grab her eggs and coffee. She begins moving forward, and she and Jihyo shuffle-step their way to the couch. 

Once there, Jeongyeon is able to get Jihyo to agree to a momentary separation, and that's how she finds herself laying on the couch eating eggs with Jihyo sprawled on top of her. It's strange, trying to eat and drink with the weight of someone else on top of you, but Jeongyeon wouldn't move Jihyo for anything less than another apocalypse

About ten minutes later, three minutes since Jeongyeon's finished her breakfast, four since Jihyo's begun drooling onto her neck, Jeongyeon hears another set of feet pad down the hallway. 

The floorboard squeaks. A pause. A huff. The footsteps continue into the living room. 

"Can someone explain to me"—Jeongyeon presses her grin into Jihyo's hair—"why I woke up alone on a day where we all have off?" Nayeon rounds the corner of the couch and fixes Jeongyeon with a toothless glare. "Actually, no. Please explain to me why I woke up next to a _bucket_ and then walked out into the cold morning to find the alleged loves of my life snuggling on the couch without me?"

Jeongyeon brings a finger to her lips. "You'll wake Jihyo up."

"Good!" Jeongyeon has never quite been able to figure out how Nayeon can still make her whispers sound like shouts. "I think that's a fair trade for my emotional despair."

Jeongyeon hums, shifting her arm slightly higher along Jihyo's back to get more comfortable. "You're both so impressively wordy— ah." Jeongyeon winks. "Verbose this morning."

As intended, Nayeon rolls her eyes. She walks closer and kneels down until she's level with Jeongyeon. "Seriously, though. Why the bucket? Not how I planned to start my day off." She reaches out, brushes her fingers through the ends of Jihyo's hair. 

"The roof is leaking," Jeongyeon says, offering an apologetic smile. "I really wouldn't have gotten out of bed otherwise. Jihyo woke up after I left and came out."

Nayeon squints, drumming her fingers against the couch cushion. "I suppose that's an acceptable reason. The question, though, is what you're going to do to make up for it."

"Make up for it?" Jeongyeon attempts a laugh, but it comes out as more of a strained breath. "What was I supposed to do? Let the mattress get wet just to stay in bed?"

The look Nayeon gives her speaks volumes. Jeongyeon doesn't have it in her to protest, so she settles for poking the curve of Nayeon's cheek instead. Immediately, all of the annoyance drops from Nayeon's gaze, instead replaced with something warm, almost dreamy.

"You need your rest, " Nayeon says, skimming her hand over Jihyo's shoulder until she reaches Jeongyeon. Jeongyeon's shirt is bunched up from laying on the couch, so it's easy enough for Nayeon to press circles into her skin. 

"I know, and I'll get it. I have more time off than both of you." Nayeon's eyes sharpen, as they often do when Jeongyeon brings up her job. "Yes, I know it's because it's the most dangerous, but the point stands."

Nayeon shakes her head, sighs. "Still. Not a fan of this sleeping situation."

"I can go fix the r—"

"Shh! I can only handle so many stupid things out of your mouth so early in the morning."

Jeongyeon sticks her tongue out. "I mean, the only other option we have is our sleeping bags but..." Nayeon is up and out of the living room before Jeongyeon can finish her sentence. 

"Is she gone?" The whisper comes from below, and she looks down to see a sleepy Jihyo looking up at her. Half of her face is pressed against Jeongyeon's shoulder, only amplifying the playful twinkle in her eye. 

"You traitor," Jeongyeon hisses. "You left me to face her alone!"

"I'm very sleepy." Jihyo presses her face further into Jeongyeon's neck, muffling her next sentence. "Besides, you did a great job. Proud of you."

Jihyo's lips flutter against Jeongyeon's neck with every word, just light enough to be a soothing kind of ticklish. She relents, dropping her head down onto the arm of the couch. "You know, we haven't slept in joined sleeping bags since our last trail making expedition."

Nayeon walks into view, arms full of their sleeping bags. "Oh you mean the one where Jihyo tried to fight off a fucking leopard with a tin can and a baseball bat?"

Jeongyeon snickers over Jihyo's barely audible protest. "It was a tiny leopard!"

Nayeon drops their sleeping bags to the floor. "You're a tiny person!"

Jihyo has no rebuttal to that, and the lack of an attempt to even glare at Nayeon tells Jeongyeon just how tired she still is. 

Jeongyeon gives Nayeon a look, and she steps into action, beginning to unzip and reconnect the sleeping bags with a speed that can only come with a true desperation to go back to bed. Minutes later, with a slow-moving Jihyo and impatient Nayeon, they get into their makeshift bed. 

Despite the fact that she can feel the stiff carpet of their living room through the sleeping bag, Jeongyeon relaxes as Nayeon and Jihyo settle against her. Jihyo's head finds her shoulder first, then Nayeon's. Two hands slide across her stomach from opposite sides, not stopping until they meet in the middle, linking together while also letting their thumbs nudge under the hem of Jeongyeon's shirt. 

Jeongyeon knows they'll shift and resettle at least three more times before drifting off once more, but for the moment, she feels immaculately at ease.

"When I wake up later with back problems, I'm blaming both of you." 

Jihyo lifts her head. "We all know that you already have back problems because you're old."

Nayeon ruffles Jeongyeon's hair with the speed at which she sits up. "We're basically the same age!"

"I got carded last week by Mr. Ko. Pretty sure that's never happened to you."

"First, carding hasn't been a thing since The Ruin. Second, last week I tried to trade Mr. Ko some vegetables for a beer and he told me he didn't accept things not of this earth. His mind isn't fully there."

"That's because your carrots are freakishly gigantic," Jeongyeon interjects, barely stifling a yawn. Nayeon and Jihyo's voices have been growing softer and softer with each exchange, and she's long grown used to being soothed to sleep by the sound of their bickering. "Look like weird alien carrots." Another barely aborted yawn. "You're both babies. Now, sleep."

A pause. Jeongyeon can sense Nayeon and Jihyo silently conversing over her. Jeongyeon feels Nayeon shift next to her, bending down to nose at her temple and whisper in her ear. "You're very sleepy for someone who wouldn't go back to bed and just finished a cup of coffee."

Jeongyeon wants to tell Nayeon to get fucked, but words seem like too much of an effort at the moment. Instead, she settles for wrapping her arms around the other woman's shoulders and yanking her down, turning her so that Nayeon ends up spooned against her. 

Jihyo laughs at Nayeon's resulting squeak, but she adjusts to the new formation, slipping an arm under Jeongyeon's neck and tangling their legs together as she lays back down. 

Things quiet down pretty quickly after that, and Jeongyeon drifts back to sleep on the sounds of Nayeon and Jihyo's steady breathing, leaky roof all but forgotten. 

Nayeon bites back a hiss as her hand scrapes against the asphalt shingle in an effort to steady herself. She doesn't exactly love doing roof repairs, but she'd rather herself be struggling with caulk and lining than Jeongyeon or Jihyo. One last press and she's done, satisfied with the knowledge that no more raindrops will mar her mornings.

Nayeon scoots to the edge of the roof, looking down to make sure Jihyo is holding the ladder before she begins her descent. “You’re not going to let me fall just because I’m better than you, are you?”

A scoff. Nayeon wishes she had the nerve to look down at Jihyo’s face right now. “You’re not better than me. You just threatened to push me off the roof if I didn’t let you fix it.”

Nayeon gets to the second last rung of the ladder and hops off, facing a chagrined Jihyo with a smirk. “The best roofwoman is one not afraid of falling.”

Jihyo rolls her eyes. “You hate heights. You just want to see Jeongyeon make her mushy gratitude face at you when you tell her you fixed it.”

Not entirely true, but not entirely a lie, either. 

Nayeon giggles, stepping forward to wrap her arms around Jihyo’s waist. Nayeon always thought Jihyo wore faux-annoyance beautifully. She likes how it tightens her eyes and purses her lips and how affection shines through no matter how tightly Jihyo’s jaw clenches. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell Jeongyeon you scared the shopkeep into only accepting half a quiver of arrows for the roof stuff. She’ll make that face at you too.”

Jihyo softens with a sigh and a laugh, letting her head fall to rest on Nayeon’s collarbone. “I didn’t scare her! I just mentioned that the materials had been cheaper last month and that I wasn’t aware of an increase in material tax or transport costs.”

Nayeon threads her fingers through Jihyo’s hair. She had recently made the change from pink to black, and Nayeon couldn’t stop admiring the new contrast. “Darling,” she teases, “most people would find that a scary thing to hear from the head of the trade committee.” Jihyo grumbles wordlessly. “They don’t have the privilege of watching you drop toothpaste on your shirt every morning.”

“Ow!” Nayeon jerks away at the sharp pain. “Did you just bite me?”

“Yup!” Jihyo pops the ‘p’. “And I’ll do it again if you continue to slander me.” She moves to collapse the ladder, and Nayeon joins her. “You have no proof.”

“Pretty sure there’s stains on your pajama shirts that could back me up, and this bite mark is still fresh.” They lean the ladder against the house. “Besides, my best friend is the local judge. So…”

“Pretty sure Dahyun would side with me over you.”

“Would not!”

“Would too!”

“No way.”

“Yes way!”

“I see you two fixed the roof.”

Nayeon starts, realizing that her and Jihyo had bickered their way into the kitchen to come face to face with a bemused Jeongyeon. “We did.” Nayeon steps forward expectantly. “Jihyo bullied our way into a discount, and I did the patch job.”

What Nayeon expects from Jeongyeon is pretty simple and straightforward. As much as Jeongyeon loves to be the one taking care of them, she loves being doted on, lighting up whenever Nayeon or Jihyo do something for her, small or large. There’s a smile that always comes with the realization that it’s happened again, and Nayeon knows that both she and Jihyo are more taken by it than they’d readily admit.

Instead of a smile, Nayeon gets an eye-roll and the sight of Jeongyeon stepping back into the kitchen. “Yeah, I know. I heard you two arguing on the roof. Lots of chatter for a 10 minute fix.”

Nayeon hears Jihyo snort behind her. “Hey! That was hard work.” She follows Jeongyeon. “I really think I should be recognized for my efforts.” She continues when Jeongyeon responds with a non-committal hum. “We woke you up, didn’t we?”

Jeongyeon disappears behind the refrigerator door. “You did, but it’s really not a big deal. I’m off for another two weeks.” She straightens up, and Nayeon sees a pitcher in her hand as the door swings shut. It’s filled with a cloudy yellow drink that Nayeon instantly recognizes.

Jihyo takes a step forward, visibly excited. “Did you make lemonade?”

Finally, Jeongyeon smiles, pouring the drink into two glasses waiting on the countertop. 

Nayeon drifts closer, not stopping until she’s hovering over Jeongyeon’s shoulder to peer down at the glasses. “Is this poisoned? As revenge for waking you up?” She accepts the glass Jeongyeon hands her. The cool surface soothes the scrapes she had acquired while patching the roof. “Because if so, may I remind you that I am an indispensable member of this family, and my absence—” 

Jihyo plucks the glass from Nayeon’s hands, taking a sip before she can react. “It is,” Jihyo exclaims, grinning. “We haven’t had lemonade in forever.”

“Good, huh?” Jeongyeon attempts a wink. “Nayeon got those lemons from the market a week ago, and I figured _someone_ should use them.

Nayeon pouts as she reaches for the other glass. “Not my fault the fishing boat got trashed by a storm the same week I wanted to make fish.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Jihyo smile into another sip of lemonade. Jerk.

Jeongyeon leans forward, hand wrapping loosely around Nayeon’s wrist. “I know,” she murmurs. A familiar glint appears in her eyes. “You know what they say. When life gives you—”

Nayeon and Jihyo’s groans drown out the rest of Jeongyeon’s sentence, which she finishes with a grin regardless. 

Nayeon takes a sip of the drink, enjoying the tart brightness that spreads across her tongue.

She freezes when Jeongyeon tugs on her wrist, pulling her forward to place a kiss on the corner of her mouth. Jeongyeon presses her words lower, along the curve of Nayeon’s jaw. “Thank you for taking care of that.” Nayeon feels heat spread from Jeongyeon’s lips, and she realizes she’s blushing furiously as Jeongyeon steps away and sends her a grateful smile.

Jihyo scoffs, breaking her out of her stupor. “You’re too easy.”

Jeongyeon’s eyes narrow. “What’s that, Park Jihyo? You want a thank you kiss too?”

They’re off before Nayeon can even react, shrieks and harried footfalls filling the previously quiet house. A familiar thudding noise reaches Nayeon, telling her that someone had just been tackled to the bed.

The screams that come next are the kind of ear piercing that only come from Jihyo when she’s being mercilessly tickled. Nayeon takes a moment to put the pitcher and glasses back into the fridge before sprinting off to join them, intent on providing Jeongyeon with some back up.

“Do you think we would’ve ended up together without The Ruin?”

Nayeon shifts next to her, turning her face away from a rerun of some old game show to bestow Jihyo with a curious look.

Jihyo sighs and turns to face Nayeon more fully, careful not to jostle the head of the woman dozing on her lap. Nayeon’s arm slides from where it had been draped across the back of the couch to settle closer to Jihyo, one hand resting on her nape, the other continuing to gently sift through Jeongyeon’s hair.

On TV, a contestant tries to guess a mystery word for a new car. He’ll guess ‘bridge’. The answer will be ‘leg’. In the end, Jihyo figures it’s not that big of a loss. He would’ve lost his car 3 years later to The Ruin anyway.

“I was talking to Dahyun yesterday,” Jihyo explains. “She spent the morning dealing with the Kangs.”

“Seulgi?”

“No, the other ones.”

“The other… Oh! The ones who run the bowling alley?”

“Still no. The husband and wife who do electrical work around the settlement.”

“Oh, okay. Carry on.” Nayeon gives her a sheepish smile, which Jihyo leans forward to erase with a kiss.

“As I was saying…” Jihyo can’t resist pressing close one more time before pulling away. She never gets tired of the curl of Nayeon’s lips against her own. “Dahyun had to explain to them that she couldn’t really formally divorce them because there’s no remaining record of their marriage."

Nayeon snorts, eyes immediately widening in fear as she looks down at Jeongyeon. Her and Jihyo release twin sighs of relief when Jeongyeon just nuzzles further into Jihyo’s shirt.

Jihyo continues, quieter now. “She told them they can just stop saying they’re married, and then they demanded to know where she got her law degree from. She said that the world blew up before she could finish law school.”

With a quiet laugh, Nayeon’s head drops to rest on her outstretched arm. The smile she gives Jihyo is tinged with fondness. “And that led you to this question how?”

Jihyo looks down as she answers, tracing her index finger down the curve of Jeongyeon’s cheek. “Dahyun said she wasn’t sure if The Ruin had brought together or broken up more couples. We only got together after everything fell apart.”

They had been out to dinner when The Ruin happened, celebrating Nayeon’s promotion to project manager. One minute, Jihyo had been watching Nayeon successfully steal a bite of Jeongyeon’s pasta, and the next, the world had turned red. 

It’s a bit of a blur after that, some messy images of blood and dust streaked across Nayeon and Jeongyeon’s faces and hands clasped in her own as they stumbled out of the destroyed restaurant into a brand new world. The months that followed were the hardest of Jihyo’s life, and the only real saving grace had been having Nayeon and Jeongyeon with her.

They had found other people along the way, stumbled upon friends new and old and teamed up with them for the ride, but no number of familiar faces compared to the calm that would settle over her when Nayeon or Jeongyeon would pull her close. All pretense had fallen from them during those months; it was harder to summon the energy for faux-annoyance when they barely had the energy to fall into a makeshift bed at night. 

Jihyo couldn’t really say when the idle crush she had on the both of them blossomed into something too fierce to ignore; all she knows is that one day, months after they had finally begun to settle into something like stability, Jihyo’s heart began to jumpstart at the sight of Nayeon in her pajamas, face creased with lines from her pillow. At the grin Jeongyeon would give her as they picked through debris for supplies. 

They never split, not when they started working with others to form trade routes, not when pockets of society started up again. When Jihyo could guide her mind around the cracked streets and ruined buildings to imagine a future, the only thing that she could ever really be sure of was that she would have the two of them by her side.

It hadn’t felt like a big step to lean over one day during post-dinner conversation and guide Jeongyeon into a gentle kiss, nor had it felt out of place for Nayeon to smile softly at Jihyo afterwards and say that it was about time before immediately demanding a kiss of her own.

“Well”—Nayeon’s voice breaks Jihyo out of her reminiscing—“I think we would’ve figured it out in the end.”

Jihyo raises an eyebrow. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

Nayeon raises an eyebrow right back. “What’s your answer?”

Jihyo demurs, gaze once again returning to her lap. “I don’t know. That’s why I asked.”

Nayeon’s hand slides across her neck and up to her jaw, lifting Jihyo’s chin until their eyes meet. “Don’t tell me you’re getting sad about a past and future that didn’t happen. We’re together now. Why worry about what-ifs?”

Jihyo licks her lips, tries to summon the words to explain the small stir of anxiety that’s been lurking in her chest since yesterday. How close had she been to never having this?

“You have no sense of romance.” Jeongyeon’s words, fuzzy with sleep, stop Jihyo’s efforts in their tracks. Her eyes aren’t even open, and Jihyo wonders how long she’s been awake. Jeongyeon continues speaking over Nayeon’s surprised noise. “You’re supposed to say that of course we would’ve ended up together, that any universe would conspire in helping us end up in each other’s arms.” A pause. Jihyo swears she feels Jeongyeon’s mouth curl into a smirk against her stomach. “You’re supposed to tell Jihyo about that pathetic crush you had on her in college that never really died.”

Nayeon lurches forward on the couch. “You ass! You promised that would stay between us!”

Jihyo marvels, both at what has just been revealed to her, and at the way Nayeon’s face, from her neck to the tips of her ears, is rapidly turning red. Nayeon swipes at Jeongyeon’s shoulder, causing the other woman to sit up straight in order to dodge. Still, Jihyo just stares.

“College?” Her question causes Nayeon to halt her attempt to put Jeongyeon in a headlock. “That long?”

“Ah, well.” Nayeon laughs nervously and pushes her hands through her hair. “Yes, technically.”

“Technically?” Jihyo can tell Jeongyeon is having a field day with this. Her grin is almost blinding. “Need I remind you how you would drive an hour to my university so that you could throw yourself across my couch and go on and on about how cute Jihyo looked doing her homework?”

Nayeon scowls, and Jihyo can’t help but smile, chest feeling fit to burst. “Yoo Jeongyeon, I’m going to give you one more chance to stop talking.”

“Or what,” Jeongyeon teases, leaning back against the arm of the couch. “You have nothing—”

“I liked both of you in college at different points.” Both of their jaws drop, and Jihyo giggles. “So it’s good to know that I would’ve had a shot with one of you.”

“Oh my god.”

“Both of us, actually.” 

Jeongyeon’s eyes are soft, and they remain so even as Nayeon let’s out a shout. “I _knew_ it! You were way too excited whenever we all hung out.” Nayeon blinks, deflates. “But wait. Shit.” She worries her bottom lip between her teeth. “I made you listen to me go on about Jihyo so many times.”

Jeongyeon chuckles. “Yeah, well, maybe I was already a little bit in love with you by then too, so I dealt with it.” Both of them are speechless now, and Jeongyeon squirms under the weight of the silence. "What? I figured it was only fair seeing as I shared Nayeon's secret."

"I mean it absolutely is fair," Nayeon says, exhaling. "I just need a moment to process everything."

"We've been together for years now," Jeongyeon points out with a smile that Jihyo mirrors. "Shouldn't be that surprising that I liked you both."

"It's annoying," Nayeon whines, slumping back against the couch. "I thought I was pathetic for liking both of you and now you tell me that I could’ve had two girlfriends the entire time.” With a flourish, Nayeon throws her arm over her eyes. “The number of parties I wouldn’t have forced myself to go to in an effort to stop being single! The hangovers I could’ve avoided! The dating apps I could’ve deleted!”

A beat of silence, and then they all burst into laughter the moment Nayeon raises her arm to see how her monologue was received.

Jihyo barely manages to speak through her giggles, having to lean on Jeongyeon for support. “All right. I think I have my answer.”

“And,” Nayeon prompts.

Jeongyeon’s arm wraps around her waist. Nayeon looks at her like she’s a revelation. “We would’ve figured it out just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at @2yeonaus if you're so inclined! This should be a pretty short authorial jaunt, all things considered. Just needed to scratch an itch.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Homeward bound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes even an apocalypse isn't enough to kill the need to take a look at productive powers of labour.

Jeongyeon lets out a deep breath as she settles into her radiation suit. No matter how many times she zips into the same gear, it always takes a second to adjust to the odd sense of being trapped. When she’s in the field and picking through heavily contaminated waste, it feels like safety, but now, standing outside the Field Recovery Office and surrounded by her coworkers, it just feels ridiculous.

“I saw your wife at the market yesterday.” 

Jeongyeon looks up at the man standing next to her. “I don’t have a wife.” His face is mostly obscured by the head cover and the glare of the rising sun, but Jeongyeon doesn’t need to see Younghyun’s face to know he’s smiling. She lets a moment of silence sit between them before relenting with a sigh. “Which one?”

“The tall one.” She can hear the smirk.

“Neither of them are tall.”

“The not short one.”

“I’m going to tell Jihyo you said that.”

“No, see. You could’ve also said ‘Neither of them are short.’, but you didn’t.” He laughs, and Jeongyeon fights the urge to smack him with her rucksack. 

“Is there a point to this, or are you just showing off that you finally know everyone in our 250 person settlement?”

“Oh, yeah. She was arguing with a council member about something.”

Jeongyeon furrows her brow. Nayeon hadn’t mentioned anything about that at dinner. In fact, the other woman had seemed downright cheerful. “Did you hear what about?”

Younghyun shakes his head. “No, but she sounded pissed."

Her other partner for the day chimes in. "Something about chicken feet?"

Jeongyeon turns to face Seulgi, raising an eyebrow even if the other woman can't see it. "Did everyone but me witness this?"

Seulgi shrugs. "The general store was having a sale on milk. It was busy."

Jeongyeon sighs, making a mental note to remind Nayeon that certain things weren’t worth making enemies over. She can only surmise that the poor soul had gotten to the last of the chicken feet before Nayeon could, setting off a battle Jeongyeon instantly knew the results of. “Well, thanks for the update. I guess. Anyone have anything important they want to tell me about Jihyo?”

“She’s way out of your league.”

“Younghyun, I will break your legs and leave you in an irradiated Lotte. Don’t test me.”

“I’ll help!”

“And Seulgi will help.”

Jeongyeon can hear the man pout. “You know I'm just kidding! You three are in your own weird league by yourselves." Jeongyeon allows herself a hidden smile. "Jihyo’s league status aside, we should get going. Scouts cleared a path to an electronics store, so the captain wants us to get there ASAP. It’s pretty charged, so half a day there will fill 75% of our monthly allotment.”

Jeongyeon lets out a low whistle. “Damn. This is my first day back in three weeks. At this rate, I’ll have another month off.”

“Well we won’t have anything if we don’t get started,” Seulgi says. “Come on. Fun awaits.”

Jeongyeon nods and checks her suit one more time to make sure everything is properly sealed. The sun is fully above the mountains, and it turns the dirt path ahead of them an eerie-red. It’s a sight Jeongyeon has seen dozens of times by now, and it never looks any more welcoming. 

She’s just barely started work again and she already misses her time off. Time off means getting to spend her mornings with Nayeon, laughing and joking until they can’t afford to put off their chores any longer. It means curling around Jihyo on the couch on the days she works from home, sometimes blocking her pen from writing any further until a kiss is placed on waiting lips.

Before The Ruin, Jeongyeon would’ve called herself driven in the same way most people were. She had finally settled on a career path after years of floating from job to job, and she had been determined to make something of herself from it. After The Ruin, her motivations shifted. She didn’t need the house and the car and the well-stocked retirement account; she wanted to build a new self, crafted from moments spent with those she loved the most. 

Picking through oftentimes toxic and irradiated waste to find materials the settlement needed for technology isn’t exactly the greatest job Jeongyeon ever could’ve imagined for herself, but it pays well and allows her to spend most of her days at home. Granted, she ends up getting glowered at when she tells Nayeon and Jihyo that she has the rest of the month off because she’s fallen into a glowing puddle or spent all day in an irradiated theme park, but it lets Jeongyeon live the life she wants with the people she wants to live it with.

So, in the end, Jeongyeon doesn't enjoy walking down the dusty red path, but she does love walking back up it in the afternoon sun, when the reds have given way to warm yellows and the only place she has to go is home. 

  
  


Nayeon takes a deep breath and exhales in time with the wind, letting her eyes follow the gait of the deer as it moves through the trees. She’s been following it for at least an hour now, slinking closer until she’s only several yards away. 

Her hand begins to cramp around the string of her bow, but she doesn’t dare relax. She just needs one last shot, and then she can go home. She had set off early this morning, slipping out the door before either of her lovers had so much as stirred. 

There had been a reason for such an early start time, and this goddamn deer was threatening to ruin it all. 

The deer dips its head to take a drink of water, and Nayeon curses, fingers twitching. All she needed was for it to raise its head. The reeds and hyacinths that ring the lake would be a welcome sight at any other time, but now Nayeon curses their existence.

Another deep breath. Nayeon’s mind wanders back to the handful of rabbits she had collected from her snares already today. It’s a good enough haul any day of the week, but she had seen the deer and immediately taken off after it, unable to shake instinct born of past hunger pains.

The deer’s tail flicks away some flies. Nayeon’s pinky twitches. She lowers the angle of her shot by a hair. 

Nayeon hates hunting in the same way she hates the scars that litter her body, in the same way that she hates the lean muscle that now lines her frame. She had never wanted to hunt, but years and years ago, when they had been near-starving and barely managing to get by on scraps, she had picked up a bow in a dilapidated sporting goods store and claimed it as her own.

Both Jihyo and Jeongyeon had been eyeing it as it had lain there in the rubble, and Nayeon had taken one look at their curious and hesitant eyes and immediately knew that she would have to be the one to take this on. They had avoided hunting and trapping until then, but their food supplies had recently been on the edge of dangerously low.

She had understood something she knew Jeongyeon and Jihyo did not. 

They would’ve tried hunting, of course. They would’ve failed in the same way Nayeon had failed and pulled the muscles in their shoulders just as Nayeon had done. They would’ve sliced their fingers on snare wires and been brought to tears at snapped fishing lines just like her. And one day, they would’ve had their first success and then another and then another until they would fall into the role of hunter like they had been born to be there. 

They would’ve tried and succeeded at hunting, but they wouldn't have been able to move past the violence. Their thoughts would linger on final breaths and flickering eyes of animals whose lives they needed to take. Nayeon knew that Jeongyeon and Jihyo would never accept the feeling, only grow numb to it.

Nayeon hadn’t known if she would be able to make peace with hunting, but she knew she had a better shot at it than the other two. In fact, her disgust had turned to pride faster than she would ever admit out loud, and it took her a month to understand that the thrill she was feeling when she took down a deer or a squirrel had nothing to do with the rush of the hunt and everything to do with knowing that all three of them would go to bed with full stomachs that night. 

With today’s take, they’ll be set for the next two weeks, and Nayeon will have extra to trade for Jihyo’s knitting supplies and a new book for Jeongyeon to read.

Nayeon loves the fitness of her form, loves that it allows her to take care of the two people she adores so much. She loves the stories that scars map to her skin, appreciates them for the souvenirs they are. 

The deer straightens up, and Nayeon looses her arrow. She starts to nock another one before her shot hits the deer between the ears, and she manages to get off a second shot to the heart. It’s a quick death, and Nayeon doesn’t hesitate in making her way over. 

She hooks her bow onto her back and takes out her knife, sending a silent thanks to the forest for being kind to her today. The sun bears down on her neck as she bends down to begin processing the deer. It should take her about 2 hours, and she should be home just as the sun begins to melt into the evening. 

Jeongyeon should be back by then, likely sitting by the window and reading through a dog-eared book of poetry, murmuring her favorite verses to herself under her breath. Her hair will still be damp from her post-work shower, and Nayeon will be able to sneak up behind her and tug at the towel that will be draped around her shoulders. She’ll receive a yelp for her efforts, then a kiss that she’ll readily return.

After that, it should only be an hour or so until Jihyo makes her way home, just enough time for them to put together a special dinner to celebrate the finalization of a trade deal Jihyo’s spent the last several months agonizing over. 

Her skill with a bow and a snare has allowed her to build a place to call home, and Nayeon will always be grateful for that. 

  
  


Jihyo’s eyes dart between her traitorously empty pen and the half-finished letter on her desk. Unwillingly, her eyes slip to the window, and she winces at how low the sun is in the sky. She was supposed to leave two missives ago, but the thought of having one less thing to do tomorrow kept her going long past when she had promised to be home. 

She knows Nayeon and Jeongyeon will greet her with a long-suffering understanding, just as she knows that all the stress currently bearing down on her will dissolve the moment that happens.

When Jihyo had first taken on this position, it had been much simpler. Settlements were still a scarcity, and for the first year there was only one group she regularly dealt with. The next year it was two, then four, then seven, and by her fifth year as head of the trade committee she was dealing with over a dozen different communities. She loved the frenzy of it all, wheeling and dealing to make sure that her people got what they needed, but she hated that it meant more and more hours away from where she really wanted to be.

She had done it for all of them in the beginning so that they could have a better life, but more and more she was starting to wonder if the best thing she could do for her family was step back.

A knock jolts her out of her thoughts, and she looks up to see a blatantly judgemental Momo in the doorway. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Jihyo matches Momo’s raised brow. “What the hell are _you_ doing here? Pretty sure your last class ended two hours ago.”

Momo shrugs, buffs her nails against her shirt. “I had a breakthrough with the choreography for the upcoming show and stayed to polish it.”

“No Mina?”

Momo shakes her head. “She went home an hour ago to do dinner with Sana. Which, speaking of. Don’t you have people waiting for you at home?”

Jihyo gives her a wan smile. “I wanted to wrap a few things up so that I’d be able to sleep in tomorrow.”

“Well…” Momo walks closer, hesitating before speaking in a hushed voice. “You didn’t hear it from me, but apparently a certain someone purchased a certain someone's favorite food yesterday and another certain someone was overheard talking about a surprise celebration dinner.”

Jihyo stiffens, ice-cold dread embracing her. “Please tell me those certain someones weren’t my certain someones.”

The look Momo gives her is so filled with pity that Jihyo immediately begins packing her things, turning off the lamp at her desk and shoving her papers into her bag. “I mean, I can’t really be faulted if no one told me I was supposed to be home at a normal time, right?”

“Sure, I guess, but that doesn’t change the fact that the food is probably cold.”

Jihyo fixes Momo with a glare that has won her many a negotiation, but Momo just smirks. “You really want to waste time scowling at me instead of booking it home?”

Jihyo lurches forward as she swings her bag over her shoulders, stopping briefly at the doorway to say one last thing. “Thank you.” 

Momo’s smirk becomes a smile. “Of course. Enjoy dinner. Tell them I said hey.”

The path from her office to her home is one that Jihyo has taken countless times, and, after her more stressful days, one she's even dreamed about. Her unconscious trips serve her well in this moment, as she dashes home so quickly that she barely has time to make note of curbs and uneven cobblestone beneath her feet.

Jihyo stumbles to a stop at her front door, bracing herself against the doorway and trying her best to steady her breathing. There’s a stitch in her side that threatens to double her over, but she pushes through it to fish out her key and unlock the door.

As she steps into the house, Jihyo realizes that she probably should’ve prepared her apology speech beforehand. She considers stepping back outside, but a squeaky laugh from the kitchen pulls her in.

The lights in the rest of the house are off, making the light emanating from the kitchen all the more welcoming. Jihyo pulls up short when she finally gets a proper look at what she had been missing. 

Nayeon smiles at Jeongyeon as her laughter peters off, murmuring something that Jihyo can't hear but that makes the flush already on Jeongyeon's cheeks deepen. They work easily together as they continue to talk, and Jihyo allows herself a moment to take them in. 

Nayeon balances three plates along her arm, waiting for Jeongyeon to finish smoothing down the tablecloth before placing them on the table. Jihyo's eyes gather up the visual details of their days, notes the new scratch running down Nayeon's right arm and the way Jeongyeon seems to be hesitating slightly when putting weight on her left leg. There’s an old argument in front of her, one they’ve had several times about the risks Nayeon and Jeongyeon take while Jihyo sits behind a desk all day. By now, Jihyo knows it would be pointless to pursue a fight worn down by years of butting heads on this issue, but it doesn’t stop guilt from tightening her throat all the same. 

The clatter of Jeongyeon setting silverware down makes Jihyo jump, and it's then that she realizes she’s stopped breathing. 

Her flinch draws attention, and two sets of eyes zero in on her. “Hey,” Nayeon exclaims, walking towards her with a grin. 

Jihyo shakes her head, cursing herself for not having an apology ready. She resorts to an old favorite. "I'm so sorry I'm late!" 

Nayeon stops short, tilting her head to the side. "Late? Late for what?"

Jeongyeon moves past Nayeon, reaching out to smooth down Jihyo's jacket. "Did you run here?" The cool press of Jeongyeon's hand against her cheek alerts Jihyo to just how overheated she is. "You look like you got chased by a bear."

"Or a very angry citizen," Nayeon adds, stepping up to Jihyo's other side with a look of concern. "Do I need to go fight someone?"

"No," Jihyo blurts out, stepping back to give herself space to focus. "No, but I…" Her eyes land on the just-set table, flicker to the two concerned women standing in front of her. "Momo told me you guys were planning something, and I had stayed so late today."

Jeongyeon laughs, relief clear. "Oh that's it? What, did you think we wouldn't know that you'd come home past sundown?"

"Yeah, give us some credit here." Nayeon closes the distance between them once more, hooking her fingers into Jihyo's belt loops and pulling her close. "We didn't meet you yesterday." Nayeon's teasing smile puts Jihyo's heart in a vice grip. "Park Jihyo home for a normal people's dinner? Unthinkable."

The words tumble out of Jihyo before she can give them another thought. “I’m quitting.”

Two pairs of eyes widen. “What?” Nayeon’s surprise makes her loud. “You’re what?”

“Quitting.” Jihyo’s voice is steady. The declaration is sudden, but the relief Jihyo feels as she speaks tells her that this was a long time coming. “I can’t step down immediately, but when re-election comes up in two months, I’m not going to run again.” She barrels on, not able to stop now that she’s started. Her brain isn’t even processing how Nayeon and Jeongyeon are reacting to her announcement. “I know this means that we’re going to lose an income stream and also some sway in town, but I hate how I’m never around and that you expect me to come home late and—”

Nayeon’s lips cut her off, ramble dying in Jihyo’s throat as she tries to not get bowled over from the force of the kiss. Her back hits the wall, guided by Nayeon’s hand on her cheek and the incessant press of her body. 

Nayeon pulls away, and Jihyo immediately misses her, though she’s thankful for the ability to breathe. “You mean it?” Nayeon’s words are soft against her lips. 

Jihyo nods, stupefied. Her nose brushes against Nayeon’s. “Yes.”

Nayeon kisses her again, softer, reassuring. “Okay,” she says, pulling away. Her fingers play with stray hairs escaped from Jihyo’s bun. “Don’t worry about money. I have us covered on food, and I usually trade half of my catch for things anyway. Jeongyeon gets paid more than enough to cover us, and she helps tend to the garden when she’s off from work. You can help with that. You can knit clothing as well, donate or trade that as you want. As for influence,”—Nayeon smirks—“just because you no longer have a title doesn’t mean people won’t listen to you. Besides, I don’t really care if anyone in town listens to us as long as you’re happy.”

Jihyo blinks. Again, slower. “So you’ve been thinking about this.”

Nayeon shrugs. “I see how stressed that job makes you. I wanted to have everything thought out in case you ever decided to leave.” Nayeon looks back over her shoulder at the third woman in the room. “I’ve also spent tons of time daydreaming about Jeongyeon deciding to stop frolicking in radiation.” 

Jihyo stops herself from immediately looking over to Jeongyeon, the relief she felt at Nayeon’s reassurance quickly cooling. Nayeon moves easily with what comes her way, but Jeongyeon has always been one for plans. She doesn’t expect to see anger, but perhaps disappointment. Frustration. Something that doesn’t feel as warm as the delight pouring off of Nayeon. She knows that Jeongyeon will support her through anything, but that doesn’t mean she has to like how it starts. 

A moment later, when Jihyo lets her gaze follow her heart, she sees that Jeongyeon is smiling, arms crossed and hip cocked to lean against the countertop. Something in Jihyo’s expression must call out to her, because Jeongyeon immediately makes her way over. Nayeon steps back with only a half-hearted protest, and then Jeongyeon’s hand is once again on her cheek. 

“This is really what you want,” Jeongyeon asks, eyes searching Jihyo’s face. “You’re not just saying this because you feel bad about not being late to a dinner you thought you were late to?”

“I want this,” Jihyo says. She looks at Nayeon, takes in the soft smile that hooks her lips. Back to Jeongyeon. Back to looking into eyes Jihyo has long since learned mean comfort and safety. “I want us. I didn’t survive an apocalypse just to spend most of my time not with the people I love. Maybe I needed to do all of that to get us off the ground but not anymore."

Jihyo can't help but lean into Jeongyeon's touch as she draws her thumb over Jihyo's cheek. "I'm proud of you," Jeongyeon says. Warmth pools in Jihyo’s chest. "You know neither of us care what you do as long as you're safe and happy."

"If that's how it works," Jihyo begins, briefly pressing her smile to Jeongyeon's palm, "then both Nayeon and I should be talking to you about what you do."

“Hey now,” Jeongyeon protests, hand dropping from Jihyo’s cheek to wave the comment away. “What I do is carefully monitored by doctors! I’m totally fine.”

Nayeon slips her arms around Jeongyeon’s waist, drops her chin over her shoulder. “So if I asked you if your left leg hurt you would say....”

Jeongyeon’s gaze slides off of Jihyo’s face and to a point over her shoulder. She’s pouting now, and Jihyo just barely tamps down a giggle. “That I just bumped my shin against something and that I’ll be fine tomorrow. But hey this is Jihyo’s moment! We can have a double celebration right now.”

“Fine,” Nayeon relents. “I’ll work on you another day.” She lifts one of her hands from Jeongyeon’s waist and once again tugs on Jihyo’s belt loops. Jihyo laughs when the motion sends her stumbling into Jeongyeon’s arms. “We have dinner waiting for the first celebration. What do you want for the second?”

“Well…” Jihyo’s eyes dart down to Jeongyeon’s lips, which curl playfully. Jeongyeon drifts closer, nose brushing her cheek and breath ghosting over her mouth. “I did only get one out of two welcome home kisses.”

Jeongyeon chuckles, low and throaty, and Jihyo’s stomach clenches. “Nayeon’s wasn’t a welcome home so much as a—”

Jihyo takes a page out of Nayeon’s book, gratified when Jeongyeon immediately melts into the kiss, hand returning to cup Jihyo’s jaw. Jeongyeon’s hand slips lower on Jihyo’s neck, begins toying with her collar in a way that makes Jihyo question if it would be better to just go ahead and skip dinner. The feeling of Nayeon’s hand slipping underneath her shirt does nothing to convince her that it would be a bad idea. 

Right as Jihyo moves to draw Jeongyeon in closer, she steps away. Shameless, Jihyo tries to chase down the kiss, but Jeongyeon just deflects with a quick press of her lips and a murmur of _later_. 

“If we don’t eat now, both of you are going to be complaining tonight, and I’m not dealing with that.” The firmness in Jeongyeon’s tone belies the flush on her face and the way her hand lingers a moment longer on the skin of Jihyo’s neck before pulling away. 

Jihyo locks eyes with Nayeon over Jeongyeon’s shoulder, and she’s immediately able to tell the other woman is having similar thoughts. Nayeon smirks, moving to whisper in Jeongyeon’s ear. But Jeongyeon, with instincts honed from years of dealing with getting ganged up on, senses their intentions and steps out of Nayeon’s embrace before Nayeon can even begin to speak.

“Dinner,” she says before turning on her heel and walking over to the table.

“Do you think she’d come to bed if we started making out?” 

Jihyo barks out a laugh, loving the mischievous grin Nayeon sports. “No. Besides, I am kind of hungry.”

Nayeon’s face softens. “Well, then let’s go have that celebration dinner, yeah?”

Dinner is everything Jihyo expects it to be, with the added bonus of her food still being warm. There’s an extra lightness, as well, borne of the knowledge that she’s a couple months away from not having to deal with relentless frustration. 

She looks up from her plate just in time to catch Nayeon trying to steal some of Jeongyeon’s noodles despite the fact that she has her portion still in front of her. Jeongyeon squawks, trying to bat Nayeon’s hand away, but all she succeeds in doing is rattling the table and spilling her drink. 

Jihyo grins around her next bite of food, happy to finally be home.


	3. Chapter 3

Jeongyeon wakes the first time to a gentle pressure on her forehead and the feeling of something stroking along her cheek. She instantly knows it’s Jihyo, up far too early for her last day at work. 

She presses closer with a small whine, wishing she had the energy to pull the other woman back down into bed. In the back of her mind, Jeongyeon knows she and Nayeon could manage it, but Nayeon’s arms are wrapped firmly around her waist and Jeongyeon doesn’t have it in her to wake her.

“I was hoping you’d stay asleep.” Jihyo whispers.

“I never do,” Jeongyeon mutters back. She tilts her chin upwards, pleased when a kiss is placed upon her lips. “Why would I miss this?” She tries to come off flirty, but the sleep weighing down her voice renders her words tender instead.

Jihyo laughs. “Your eyes aren’t even open. You’re not missing much.”

Jeongyeon struggles to open her eyes and prove a point, but the best she manages is an ineffective squint. The sun isn’t even up yet, and the only light she has to make out Jihyo’s face is the soft glow of the candle in her hand.

Another touch to her cheek, and her resolve crumbles. The last thing she remembers before falling asleep is a nose brushing against her forehead and a kiss pressed to her hair.

“Sleep well, Jeong.”

Jeongyeon isn’t sure what wakes her up the second time, but after a few more seconds of morning stillness, she tucks her head back under Nayeon’s chin and commits herself to several more hours of unconsciousness. 

Not a second later, a knock splits the silence.

Jeongyeon groans, feeling Nayeon’s arms pulse around her. “Who?” Nayeon’s voice is scratchy with sleep, and Jeongyeon thinks it should be nothing short of criminal for someone to interrupt this. 

Another knock, and Jeongyeon is fully, and reluctantly, awake now. She presses a kiss to the column of Nayeon’s throat, takes a moment to revel in skin warmed by sleep and a fluttering pulse. “I’ll get it,” she murmurs.

It takes a few more kisses pressed to Nayeon’s jaw and strokes along her stomach before Jeongyeon is released, but eventually she winds her way to the front door. The knocks sound every 30 seconds or so, and she’s reassured by the fact that it can’t be anything that urgent.

She pulls the door open and finds herself unable to do anything other than gape.

“Surprise!” 

Chaeyoung’s grin is wide and pleased, and Jeongyeon’s heart jumps into her throat at the sight. She brings her gaze higher and feels tears begin to pool at the unabashed joy on Tzuyu’s face. 

“You’re back early.” Jeongyeon is breathless, and those are the only words she gets out before she lurches forward to pull them both into a hug. 

Chaeyoung’s loud laugh is balanced by the giggle Tzuyu presses into her hair. “We got homesick,” Tzuyu says.

Chaeyoung nods, head bumping Jeongyeon’s chin. “Yeah, and we had already mapped out a bunch of new stuff. No need to wait another month.”

A thought strikes Jeongyeon, and she pulls back from the hug. “Wait. Did you two come straight here?”

Tzuyu gives a shy nod, as if she knows what’s coming. 

Jeongyeon steps back, ushering them inside. “Get your asses in here and take a seat. I’ll go start some tea and wake Nayeon up. We’re going to feed you, catch up, and then you two are going straight to the medic for check-up.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Chaeyoung waves off the concern, but all three of them know Jeongyeon’s list will be followed to the letter. “No Jihyo,” Chaeyoung asks, already toeing off her shoes by the door.

Jeongyeon shakes her head. “She’s at work. It’s actually her last day.”

Tzuyu stops in her tracks, causing Chaeyoung to bump into her back. They speak in tandem “She’s quitting?”

Jeongyeon laughs, wishing she had a camera with her to capture the look of pure shock on their faces. “She is, and we’re all thankful for it. Still, she’ll be pissed that she missed seeing you right away, but what can you do? Now, sit.”

A kettle of boiled water and two sachets of tea later, Jeongyeon makes her way back into the bedroom to a predictable sight. 

Nayeon lays sprawled across the bed, and Jeongyeon knows she isn’t imagining the drool at the corner of her mouth. She moves onto the bed, climbing over Nayeon until she’s straddling her.

Jeongyeon presses a kiss to her forehead, then her nose, followed by one to each cheek. Jeongyeon can feel Nayeon jerk awake at the first one, and she doesn’t miss the growing curve to Nayeon’s lips. 

When she pulls back, Nayeon opens an eye and points at her pouting lips. “You missed a spot.”

Jeongyeon chuckles, tugging the sheets down. “Aren’t you going to ask me who was at the door?”

“Who?”

“Chaeyoung and Tzuyu.”

Nayeon stiffens, and then Jeongyeon finds herself almost thrown off the bed, just barely managing to snag the headboard to steady herself. “Hey,” she shouts, well aware that her protest is falling on deaf ears. She drops down onto the bed with a laugh, pressing her smile into Jihyo’s pillow. 

She makes no move to get up, even as Nayeon’s squeals of excitement bounce down the hallway. In a couple of minutes, she’ll get up and help Nayeon put together a breakfast for their surprise house guests, but first, she gives herself a couple more seconds of basking in the glee rushing through her.

  
  
Nayeon can’t help but smile at the jingle of the bell as the door swings shut behind her. Stepping further into the store, the earthy smell of flowers surrounds her. Nayeon lets her fingertips dance gently along the petals she passes on her way to the counter.

The tableau at the counter is one that she’s become quite familiar with: Sana’s elbows sit on the counter, holding her weight as she leans forward to get a better look at the piece of paper in Mina’s hand.

“I like it.” Sana smiles, touching Mina’s shoulder. “I really think the kids will too.”

“You think so?” 

Sana reaches out to tuck a lock of hair behind Mina’s ears, giving her another look Nayeon has also become very familiar with. “Of course. They always love your games. You run the rec center for a reason, Mrs. Myoui.”

Mina turns in Nayeon’s direction, likely to hide the blush on her face, but she stops short upon spotting her. “Nayeon!”

Sana straightens up, eyes leaving Mina to properly look around her store. “Oh hey! What brings you here? Which wife did you annoy?”

Nayeon scoffs, crossing her arms. “I didn’t annoy anyone, thank you!” Sana raises a skeptical brow, and Mina giggles. “You know that’s true,” Nayeon insists. “I only ever come in here to get flowers for special occasions, and there is one of those today.”

Sana brightens, the teasing curl of her lips splitting into a grin. “Really? What’s going on?”

Briefly, Nayeon entertains the idea of drawing the reveal out, but her own excitement gets the better of her. “Chaeyoung and Tzuyu came back early.”

Mina’s jaw drops. “Wh—” 

Sana’s squeal cuts her off, the other woman all but lunging across the counter to pull Nayeon closer. “Really?”

Nayeon struggles to form a response, Sana having pulled her sternum directly into the cash register. She shoots Mina a thankful look when the other woman steps forward to coax them apart. 

“Honey, I’m as excited as you are about their return, but if you kill Nayeon now, we’ll never know where they are so we can go see them.”

Sana sighs, hands returning to rest on the countertop as she allows Nayeon freedom of movement once more. “A good point. Okay, well.” She waves a hand in Nayeon’s direction. “Tell us everything. When did they get back? Are they okay? Are we having a party tonight?”

Nayeon grins. “They got back this morning. They’ve been fed and fussed over, and Jeongyeon herded them over to the medic. They’ll probably be there all afternoon getting checked out, and once they’re done, we are absolutely having a party tonight! We’ll celebrate their return and Jihyo’s last day of work all at once.”

Mina claps. “That’s so exciting! I can’t wait to hear about everything they’ve gotten into.”

“Well,” Nayeon says, “we only heard a bit of their story, but apparently Tzuyu half-domesticated a wolf and Chaeyoung found a tree with wood that glows in the dark. So. Big adventures this time around.”

Sana and Mina both blink at her. 

“We’ll be there at half-past six,” Mina eventually ventures, still visibly surprised. “I’ll grab the party decorations from the rec center, and Sana can bring whatever flowers she wants. Right?”

“Yes!” Sana bounces in place. “Absolutely! It’s been awhile since we’ve all been together, so I’ll definitely be going all out.”

“Perfect! I’ll be visiting Dahyun next. Mina, do you mind filling Momo in when you’re back at the center?”

Mina salutes, and with that and another minute or two of chatting, Nayeon is on her way, humming the song that had been playing on the radio as she left Sana’s shop.

She hesitates briefly when she arrives in front of the administration building. The urge to drop by Jihyo’s office for a quick hello is incredibly tempting, but Nayeon knows that Jihyo is likely caught up in transition meetings. Plus, she knows it’s even more likely that her excitement about Tzuyu and Chaeyoung would be all too much to hide. With slightly dragged feet, she makes her way past the front door, stopping only briefly to peek through the window of Jihyo’s office before continuing on to the legal office.

(Jihyo had been sitting in her office, surrounded by the other members of the trade committee. She had been speaking about something with a tired smile, hair up in a messy bun and pen dancing between her fingers. 

There was always something so appealing about seeing Jihyo in her element, and Nayeon had allowed herself to get as far as wrapping her fingers around the doorknob before wrenching herself away.)

Nayeon steps into the legal office and immediately smiles at the sight of her friend leaned back in her chair and flipping through paperwork. 

After The Ruin, there hadn’t exactly been an abundance of lawyers and judges running around, nor was there really anyone in a position to dictate who could and could not be a judge anymore. As such, when their settlement had finally started coming together to be something real, it was easy enough for Dahyun to volunteer and become the settlement’s own version of law and order.

Most of the office is decorated in a way that reminds her of how things were before The Ruin, albeit with slightly shabbier furniture. There’s a chair she’ll never sit in because a spring is poking through and a table that never stops wobbling, but it’s the closest to familiarity Nayeon gets these days. 

Dahyun notices her immediately, dropping her papers on the table and standing to greet her with a smile. “Hey! What brings you here? Visiting Jihyo for lunch?”

“Can’t I stop by just to visit you,” Nayeon asks, opening her arms for a hug that Dahyun readily steps into.

Dahyun hums, squeezing Nayeon once before stepping out of the hug to fix her with a skeptical look. “Conceptually? Yes. Have you ever done that without first stopping by Jihyo’s office to stare at and or antagonize her first? No.”

Nayeon huffs and crosses her arms. “Okay I see today is just ‘Bully Nayeon’ day.”

“Is it really bullying if I’m just pointing out the way your relationship works?”

Nayeon tongues at her molar, wanting to protest but knowing that she has much more important business to address. “We can revisit that another time. More importantly: Chaeyoung and Tzuyu are back.”

The look of shock that flashes across Dahyun’s face and the accompanying squeak are made all the more humorous by the oversized judge’s robe she insists on wearing while at work. “They’re _what?”_

Nayeon smiles. “Back.”

“Here?”

“Yes.”

“In this settlement?”

“Yes.”

“Where you and I both live? That settlement?”

“Dahyun.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Dahyun waves her hands in the air, and Nayeon swears the other woman is vibrating now. “It’s just been so long, and I— where are they now?”

“The clinic with Jeongyeon. Neither of them were visibly hurt or sick, but precautions are pr— Annnd you’re already out the door.” Nayeon raises her voice to a shout. “Dinner at our place at 7 tonight. Don’t be late!”

Dahyun shouts back an unintelligible confirmation, and all Nayeon can do is shake her head and laugh. 

“What did you say to her?”

Nayeon jolts, spinning on her heel to see an amused Jihyo in the doorway. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“Whoops.” Jihyo grins like she’s not sorry at all, striding forward to take one of Nayeon’s hands in her own. “Now, why was a robed Dahyun sprinting down the hallway and why is she coming to dinner tonight? Not that I’m complaining.”

“Ah…” Nayeon looks over Jihyo’s shoulder, trying to will an escape route in existence. Nothing or no one shows up, and Nayeon’s left staring at an overly full bulletin board and peeling wallpaper. “How did your meetings go?”

“Good.” Nayeon can feel Jihyo trying to catch her gaze, but she remains stalwart in her study of a poster decrying the use of aluminium for radiation protection. “That transition binder I’ve been working on at night actually came in handy. We were actually just wrapping up when I heard the screaming and saw the sprinting.”

“Wait,” Nayeon says, daring to look at Jihyo once more. “You’re done for the day?”

Jihyo raises an eyebrow. “Don’t look so surprised. I did tell you I was going to be home early.” Nayeon raises an eyebrow to match, and Jihyo relents with a roll of her eyes. “Okay, yes, normally that ends up being false, but I meant it this time!”

Nayeon can’t hold back her smile any longer, tugging Jihyo closer by their joined hands. “Well in that case. Guess who came to visit today?”

“Who,” Jihyo asks, resting her head against Nayeon’s shoulder.

“Chaeyoung and Tzuyu.”

Jihyo stiffens, and Nayeon feels her go breathless for a moment before she wrenches herself away. “ _What?_ They weren’t supposed to be back for another month. Are they okay?”

“They’re alright,” Nayeon says with a small laugh. Jihyo looks like she’s ready to go fight whatever may have caused Chaeyoung or Tzuyu harm. “I wouldn’t be smiling if they weren’t. They’re at the medic with Jeong. That’s where Dahyun ran off to.” She tightens her grip when Jihyo’s eyes dart towards the door. “No. They need to be checked out by a doctor, not bum rushed by half the town. You’re coming to the market with me to help me carry groceries home.”

Jihyo squints like she’s going to argue, but all it takes is a tilt of Nayeon’s head for her to give in. Nayeon knows she’s right, and better yet, she knows that Jihyo knows she’s right.

“Fine,” Jihyo grumbles. “But I’m picking out what we’re having for dinner tonight.”

“Alright by me,” Nayeon says, stepping around Jihyo to head to the door. “That means you’re cooking.” She’s out the door and halfway down the hallway before Jihyo begins to splutter out her opposition, and all Nayeon can do is laugh a bit louder and break into a jog, wanting to put up at least a bit of a fight before Jihyo catches her.

  
  


Ever since the ruin, Jihyo has had a strange relationship with silence. 

She used to like it a perfectly normal amount, enjoyed the quiet right before bed and the breaching of silence when she would walk into work in the morning. She had liked the clink of a coffee mug against a countertop and had craved the way other people would disappear when she put her headphones on and played white noise.

The initial explosion had been ear-splitting enough to echo in her ears for days but what had really driven Jihyo mad had been the way she couldn’t get a moment of pure silence for months afterwards. Everywhere they went had been the cacophony of destruction and survival. People groaned and screamed and buildings creaked and collapsed. It didn’t stop at night, and it didn’t stop once the sun rose again.

She had barely been able to hear herself think.

She had broken only once during that period, so overwhelmed and exhausted that she had burst into tears at the sound of Jeongyeon slamming shut the door of the house they had been rifling through. It had taken about ten minutes for Nayeon and Jeongyeon to talk her down from a panic attack, and it was then that they had decided to strike out a bit further from the cities.

They had gotten by, and Jihyo had done a bit better then. She had learned to treasure the way the night would fall silent, broken only by the sound of animals or of someone’s snores. But even now, years and years after The Ruin, she still finds herself occasionally overwhelmed by loud noises and places. 

But she likes the noise from having all of her most important people gathered in one room. She likes listening to Chaeyoung boast about the new rivers she had mapped, and she likes the gasps and shrieks that come when Tzuyu shares all the new animals she had seen and dealt with. 

She likes when utensils clatter against plates after finishing the meal she had spent the afternoon putting together. She likes looking across the table and watching Jeongyeon laugh at a joke Dahyun tells and feeling herself warm from the inside out at the familiar squeaky sound that fills her ears. 

Later that evening, she sits nestled between Mina and the arm of the couch, ears ringing as Sana and Momo get into a yelling match about who had been more at fault for Momo’s broken leg three years ago. She can’t help but smile, even as their voices stretch across the room.

Next to her, Mina shifts away, but Jihyo doesn’t look away until an arm that is decidedly not Mina’s settles across her shoulders. "You okay?"

Jihyo sees an amused Mina step in between Sana and Momo and knows the tone of the argument is about to change. She turns and finds that Nayeon is looking at her exactly as she expects her to be: eyes soft and lips slightly downturned. "I am," she replies. "Their noise doesn't bother me." Jihyo settles against Nayeon. "Nothing from anyone in this house really would."

Nayeon presses a kiss to the side of her head. "I know, but I figured it was worth asking. I saw Jeong get out of her chair to come over here and check on you, but she tripped over Tzuyu and never quite made it. Her and Chaeyoung did shots earlier. She’s plastered." 

Jihyo cranes her neck to look over the couch, smiling when she sees Jeongyeon leaning against the table, clutching her ankle and in the middle of a dramatic monologue about her pain, Tzuyu and Dahyun her amused audience. As if sensing the new attention on her, Jeongyeon's gaze shifts, question immediately in her eyes.

_Are you okay?_

Jihyo smiles softly, nods.

_Yes._

Jeongyeon winks, blinking at Jihyo more than anything, and Jihyo just rolls her eyes. 

_Idiot._

"Hey," Nayeon interjects, pulling Jihyo's attention back to her. She raises her voice and leans over the back of the couch. "Stay away from my woman, Yoo!"

Jihyo barks out a laugh, dropping her head onto the back of the couch. Jeongyeon says nothing in response, but, by the offended squeak Nayeon lets out, Jihyo can only assume she responded with a non-verbal _fuck off._

Nayeon settles back down with a huff. "I don't know what you see in her."

"Oh please," Jihyo laughs.

"I mean it," Nayeon insists, nose upturned. "Thoroughly unappealing."

Jihyo hums, pushes in closer to nudge at Nayeon's neck. In front of them, Sana and Momo continue to argue, but laughter suffuses every word, a side effect of Mina's presence.

Noise like this means happiness. Means everyone's made it through another day.

Jihyo takes a deep breath, let's the smell of Nayeon's shampoo flood her senses. "So when we get in bed tonight, I'll be in the middle even though it's your turn. Wouldn't want you to have to deal with the likes of her."

Nayeon stiffens, and Jihyo bites back a smile so that Nayeon won't feel it pressed against her throat. “I couldn’t ask you to take on that burden. She’s really annoying. I’ll protect you.”

“Yes, but I _do_ like her. Really, it’s no trouble. I’ll let her know.” Jihyo goes to stand up, only to be yanked back down, landing on a pouting Nayeon’s lap. 

“Honestly,” Nayeon begins, hands curling around Jihyo’s waist, “you’re taking things way too far, Park Jihyo. I’ll—”

“Attention!” Chaeyoung’s voice rings out, immediately drawing everyone’s focus. 

Jihyo smiles when she takes in the askew party hat on her head. 

“I would like to make a toast.” Someone, Jihyo would guess Dahyun or Momo, let’s out a cheer. “Thank you, thank you.” Chaeyoung clears her throat. “As you all know, Tzuyu and I left to go do our map-making thing four months ago, and we did in fact do the damn thing.” Another cheer. Definitely Dahyun this time. 

“I want to say we did it so well that we came back a month early, but the truth is that we just really missed all of you too much. So…” Chaeyoung trails off for a moment, swaying slightly on her feet, and Jihyo can’t hold back a snort. “I wanted to thank all of you for being such a wonderful group to come home to. You’re all really great.”

For the first time that night, the house is entirely silent.

Chaeyoung’s smile stretches a little wider, causing the tears that had been building unseen in her eyes to begin to slip down her cheeks. They all spring into motion at once, collapsing into each other as they surround Chaeyoung. 

There’s no silence after that, and the night unwinds in the best of ways, full of the people Jihyo loves most enjoying each other’s presence. 

It’s not until her head hits her pillow, hours after Chaeyoung’s speech, that Jihyo’s ears finally stop ringing. She’s exhausted, cheeks and stomach sore from the amount of smiling and laughing she had done tonight. 

Jeongyeon collapses next to her with a groan. “I’m gonna be so tired tomorrow.” 

Jihyo laughs, wincing at the twinge of pain in her stomach. “Why? You’re off for the rest of the month.”

Jeongyeon rolls onto her side, throwing a leg over Jihyo’s hips and draping an arm over her stomach. “I am,” Jeongyeon sighs. “But I always wake up when you leave in the morning, and— oh my god you don’t have to leave in the morning.” The smile that blooms across Jeongyeon’s face is one that Jihyo would do anything to see every day for the rest of her life. “You’re really done.”

“I am.” She shifts under Jeongyeon’s limbs, turning so that she can tuck her head under her chin. Her hand comes to rest on Jeongyeon’s chest, and she can feel her heartbeat, strong and steady. “I’m sorry it took so long.”

Jeongyeon’s chin bumps into Jihyo’s head as she expresses her disagreement. “Nothing to apologize for. We all do what we need to do to get by.”

Jihyo hums in acknowledgement, before falling quiet. Silence fills the space between them, and sleep comes quickly. It feels like only a matter of seconds before her limbs grow heavy. She tries to grapple with her last remaining shreds of consciousness, knowing that there’s one last reason to stay awake, but Jeongyeon’s slow breathing is all too compelling a lullaby. 

Right on the precipice of slipping into sleep, a familiar voice pulls Jihyo back. “I can’t believe she actually stole my spot.”

“You’re so dramatic.”

“I am not! She—”

Jeongyeon’s next words are a hiss. “Lower your voice.” If she had the energy to speak, Jihyo might tell her that, with how close they all are, any sound would wake her up. As it is, she settles for a silent smile.

“Earlier at the party she said she’d steal the middle spot, but I didn’t think she actually would.” Nayeon sounds bewildered, and Jihyo wishes she could see her face right now. She really hadn’t intended to take Nayeon’s spot, but—

“It’s not Jihyo’s fault that I’m comfortable and that you take forever in the bathroom.”

“Getting ready takes time.”

Jihyo feels Jeongyeon’s chest lurch with repressed laughter. “We’re going to sleep. There’s nothing to get ready for.”

There’s a momentary pause as Nayeon climbs into bed, and Jihyo leans into the new source of warmth pressed against her back. Nayeon takes it in stride, scooting closer and slipping a hand underneath Jihyo’s shirt to rest on her stomach. Jihyo lets slip a noise of contentment and feels Nayeon press a kiss to the back of her neck. 

It’s only then that Nayeon speaks again. “Shows what you know.”

“That reply was 30 seconds to late to be effective. What does that even mean?” Jihyo feels Jeongyeon’s arm move, and she doesn’t have to open her eyes to know that she’s reaching out to Nayeon.

“Shut up. I’m middle tomorrow.” She can hear Nayeon’s pout—

“Technically, I am, but I feel pity for you so sure.” —And the patting of her cheek that follows Jeongyeon’s words

A beat of silence. The hand on her stomach pauses its gentle stroking motion, drums fingertips gently against her skin. “I’ll take it.”

“That’s what I thought. Now, sleep?”

“Sleep," Nayeon agrees. 

Jihyo is happy to know she'll be able to slip into oblivion soon.

"Night, grumpy. Love you.” The sound of rustling sheets. A quick press of lips.

“Love you too, jerk.” A kiss pressed to the back of her head. “Night, Hyo. You little thief. I love you.”

One to her forehead now. "Sleep well, babe. Thanks for fucking with Nayeon. Love you."

Facsimile of sleep be damned, Jihyo really does try her best to drum up a response for the two women in bed with her, but all she manages is a small whine. She knows Jeongyeon and Nayeon will understand.

Finally, they’re all settled, and Jihyo finds herself drifting back off to sleep to two sets of inhales and exhales. They alternate, falling into step with each other in even the most mundane of ways. 

The night presses in ever closer, and she welcomes it. With her favorite kind of silence surrounding her, Jihyo surrenders to sleep, already anticipating the dawn of a new day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it ends!! Thank you for coming along with me on this jaunt =] I had a lot of fun writing for my fave trio. They live pretty happily ever after and keep surviving post-apocalypse and being cute. Jeongyeon is eventually convinced to stop playing in radiation and they adopt a kid and eventually two dogs and three cats. Wins all around!! 
> 
> Until next time you can find me @2yeonaus!


End file.
